


Photo

by Acaranna



Category: Thor - All Media Types
Genre: AU, Gen, Protective!Thor, Sad!Loki, child!loki, child!thor, emotional h/c, protective!Frigga
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-12
Updated: 2015-04-12
Packaged: 2018-03-22 10:52:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,851
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3726052
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Acaranna/pseuds/Acaranna
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Loki had always known that his teacher wasn’t very fond of him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Photo

**Author's Note:**

> This was actually supposed to only be 500 words long. But then my Muse happened and she went wild. So, I ended up with this.^^ Thanks to the lovely [ Jaredsleto ](http://jaredsleto.tumblr.com/) it should be readable now. 
> 
> So, enjoy!

Loki had always known that his teacher wasn’t very fond of him. Not like the way she was with the other children in his class. He wasn’t even that different from them. He was eight, just like them. He was neither taller nor smaller than them; he was of average height. His features were normal, at least as far as he could tell. He liked to help his classmates when they didn’t know something he knew. He was a bit paler than the other kids but that couldn’t be the reason, right? Maybe it was, though. Adults often acted strange.

It was on a Friday when Loki was once again reminded that Ms. Parker didn’t like him.

The whole school was up and about that day, since each class was supposed to have a photo taken. Loki had even asked his mother to get his green shirt out. The one with the golden capricorn on it. He loved that shirt and always wore it to special occasions. Well, to occasions that didn’t require his green dress-shirt, like his father’s important dinners.

He’d even asked Thor, his big brother, who was already 12, if he could walk with him just to make sure that nobody dirtied up his nice shirt. Loki wanted to look good for the photo, since it was supposed to be given to the parents as well.

Now he stood with the others, waiting while Ms. Parker organized the class and told every child where to stand. The taller ones in the back with the smaller ones up front. He knew that he would be somewhere in the front, maybe next to Helen and Carol. They were as tall as him.

Yet, the second row, where both girls were standing, was already full and Loki frowned. Maybe he was supposed to settle in the front, with the others. There were still a few kids waiting to be told where to sit. He just had to be patient.

“Alright,” Ms. Parker said, when the first row was filled. “Let’s all smile for the picture.” She grinned cheerily at the others, while Loki still stood off to the side waiting. He frowned and looked down onto his shirt. Did he dirty it up without noticing? Was that why he wasn’t being told where to stand? But no, his shirt was clean and in order. Even his jeans and shoes were spotless.

“Uhm, Ms. Parker? Where am I supposed to stand?” he asked, taking a step closer to his teacher. Maybe she had just forgotten about him? Like the day they went to the zoo with the class and she forgot him in the reptile house. He wasn’t mad that she had forgotten him, because the snakes had been interesting to watch. When they moved that was.

Loki waited, hoping that she remembered and told him where to go. Yet she kept grinning at the kids. He knew when he was being ignored on purpose. Thor did that regularly when his friends were over. Though he always made sure to spend a lot more time with Loki afterwards.

But it didn’t look like Ms. Parker would give him an answer. She just looked at the photographer with a smile.

“We’re ready to start, Mr. Jenks,” she said, but the man with the camera didn’t move. Instead he looked over to where Loki stood.

“Miss, I think you forgot someone,” the man said, his voice gruff but not unkind. “The little man is waiting.” The expression on Ms. Parker’s face, when she looked over at Loki, was anything but kind. Her eyes were hard and her lips pulled into an unfriendly smirk.

“Oh no, that’s alright,” she said, before turning back. “He’s not really a part of the class, just a kid from the circus. He’ll be gone by the end of the month. He won’t need a photo. So, let’s get this show on the road.” The noise when she clapped her hand echoed loudly through the otherwise quiet room. Loki stared at her, at a loss for words. His bottom lip trembled slightly. He was shocked. He wasn’t a child from the circus! He’d been going to this school since his first day! He wouldn’t leave at the end of the month!

“But Ms. Parker,” Helen piped up from her spot but their teacher just lifted her hand.

“Be quiet, please, Helen,” she said sharply, but with a smile. “Mr. Jenks, you still have other classes to visit so why don’t we get started?”

The man, Mr. Jenks, still looked dubious but moved to start with his work. Loki stared, unblinking at the situation. His lips moved, but no sound left them. His eyes prickled and panic rose in his chest. What had he done? Why wasn’t he allowed to be on the picture? He wrecked his brain trying to remember whether or not he had played a prank on his teacher that warranted such a punishment. He was known to play the occasional prank; though usually only on his classmates and then only ever harmless ones. At least he had thought them harmless.

“Ms. Parker,” he tried again and this time the look he was given was obviously angry.

“Loki, if you can’t be quiet then I’ll have to ask you to go and sit outside the classroom and wait for us to finish this,” her voice was calm but he knew that she would make him go outside and wait there. So he just nodded and walked back to his place at the side of the room. He wanted to say more but his parents had raised him to be a good boy and to do what the adults said, because sometimes he just didn’t know the reason for their actions.

The prickling in his eyes got stronger and Loki swallowed against the lump in his throat. He wouldn’t get a picture for his mother to put up at their memory wall. He always had one to bring home in the years before and they were always put up right next to his brother’s.

He wondered what his parents would say when he told them. Would they be angry with him? He just couldn’t remember what he had done wrong.

“No!” “Ms. Parker, you’re wrong!” “Loki has always been here!” “He’s not from the circus!” “He needs to be on the photo, too!”

Loki looked up at the commotion. His classmates, who had stood in an orderly fashion were now moving around, leaving their spots and shouting and yelling. Ms. Parker glared at them before turning around to glare at him.

“You naughty boy, you put them up to this, haven’t you?” It wasn’t really a question, though.

“I haven’t,” still Loki tried to defend himself.

“Of course you have! You, with your stupid ideas and pranks and your know-it-all behaviour …”

The slam of the classroom door interrupted what else she wanted to say. Both of them looked over to the others and Loki noticed that Helen was missing. Mr. Jenks stood there, with his camera lowered, and stared at the situation with a doubtful expression. The rest of his class left their spots and started to swarm around Loki, ignoring Ms. Parker when she called them.

                                                *~*~*

Thor sighed for what had to be the tenth time now. His head rested on his left hand, while his right one doodled silly things onto the paper in front of him. He usually liked History but today something was off. He couldn’t really concentrate, couldn’t imagine the important happening like he usually could. Though it could also be that they were still waiting for the photographer to come to their class.

He idly wondered how Loki was doing. His little brother had been in very high spirits that morning, all smiles and laughter.

The next part of the lesson was interrupted though, by muffled shouting from one of the rooms down the hall. Thor, just like the rest of the class looked up when the sound of a door banging shut echoed through the hall. His teacher, frowned and walked over to the door, probably to take a look outside.

Just as he was reaching for the door handle it flew open and a little girl rushed into the room. Thor didn’t recognize her at first but when she came to a halt in front of his desk he saw that it was Helen. A classmate of Loki.

“Thor! Thor, you need to get your Mommy here! Or your Daddy! Ms. Parker is being mean to Loki! She doesn’t want him in the picture!” her words were kind of blurred due to the speed with which she was talking. Deciphering them was made harder as well because she kept repeating them and occasionally stumbled over letters or left out some words. There were tears glittering in her eyes as well.

“Helen, please, calm yourself,” Thor heard his teacher approach before pulling the girl into a hug. She refused to cry though, just swallowed hard and hugged him back.

“Don’t let Ms. Parker be mean to Loki,” she whispered and finally the words made sense in Thor’s head. He didn’t release her just yet but leaned forward to pull his cell phone out of his bag. He was one of the few in his class who already had one, just for emergencies and incase they had to be picked up.

If Thor wasn’t terribly wrong, then this counted as an emergency as well. So he unlocked his phone and dialed his mother.

                                                  *~*~*

The door did little to muffle the noise from within the room and Frigga’s worry grew. Thor’s call hadn’t made much sense until she remembered what day it was and how happy Loki had been in the morning. Adding to that, she already knew that her youngest son’s teacher had a problem with him. The why still eluded her, though.

Frigga actually contemplated knocking when she reached the door to the principal’s office, but quickly discarded that thought. With all the loud talking going on inside nobody would hear it anyway. So she simply turned the handle.

“… to let that good for nothing trouble maker interrupt my lessons!” were the words that greeted her when she stepped inside. The teacher was standing in front of the principal’s desk, with her hand pointing at Loki, who was curled up on the visitor’s sofa. Thor sat next to him, glaring angrily at the woman. Loki was white as a sheet and visibly shaking.

“Now, now, Ms. Parker,” the principal, Mr. Redins, said calmly, before looking up to acknowledge her entrance. He stood up quickly, effectively shutting the teacher up. The woman turned around to glare at whoever dared to interrupt her but paled quickly when coming face to face with Frigga.

“Ah, Mrs. Norsegod, I’ve been expecting you,” Mr. Redins said, coming around the table to offer his hand. He wasn’t trying to be overly friendly, instead he wore a serious expression on his face. “It seems to give a few … turbulences, within Loki’s class.”

“She said that Loki was from a circus and wouldn’t let him on the class photo!” Thor piped up from his spot, throwing a protective arm around his little brother. He ducked his head, though, when all eyes turned onto him. Loki hid his face against Thor’s shoulder and something clenched painfully in Frigga’s chest.

“I am sure, Mr. Redins,” she started, voice even and precise, “that you are able to explain to me, why I got a call from my son, telling me that his brother is refused a spot on the class photo.” Her eyebrow rose questioningly when she ended her sentence. The principal inclined his head towards a chair close to the brother’s and Frigga sat down. She leaned forward to place a reassuring hand on Loki’s knee. Her gaze, though, never left the teacher.

“Well, Mrs. Norsegod,” Mr. Redins began, while walking back to sit behind his desk. “I’ve not been there when the argument broke out but I’m sure that Ms. Parker will be able to shed some light into this. Aren’t you, Ms. Parker?”  
The teacher flushed unflatteringly red but started to talk.

“No offense to you, Mrs. Norsegod,” she practically hissed, “but your son is a disruption to my lessons. He distracts his classmates, plays terrible jokes on them and is a general menace to be around. Adding to that he backtalks at every turn and questions everything I teach. I advise you, to take him to a psychologist and get him checked out. There’s something wrong with him.”

“You advise me,” Frigga replied flatly, when Loki let out a quiet sob. Thor was thankfully distracted enough by trying to comfort him, otherwise he would have started shouting again. It warmed her heart that he was so protective of his little brother. Knowing that Loki was in good hands, Frigga focused her icy glare onto Ms. Parker.

 _“You advise me_ ,” she started again, voice low and hard, “to take my son to a psychologist because you can’t handle him? Let me ask you something: Have his ‘terrible jokes’ ever made anyone cry? Has he ever caused one of the other children distress? Were his questions ever not aimed to get a deeper understanding of your subject?”

Frigga rose from her seat and stepped closer to Ms. Parker. She wanted to yell at the woman, for hurting her son, but she controlled her voice. Her sons were still in the room and she was very aware of the distress Loki was already suffering.

“Let me ask you something else,” she continued when the woman in front of her remained quiet. “What has my son done to you to warrant your hatred? What has he done that you refuse him to be in a picture? A picture he’s been in ever since he started with school. What has he done that would warrant you saying that he’s going to be gone at the end of the month?  _Why do you hate him?”_

“He’s too smart, goddamnit! A child his age is supposed to be stupid,” Ms. Parker hissed, “he’s supposed to never question what I tell him. He’s supposed to hang on my lips as if my words were his air to breathe. He’s  _not supposed_  to know  _more_  of my  _SUBJECT THAN ME!”_  Her chest was heaving and the words still echoed around the room.

“So it’s your ego that’s been hurt,” Frigga said, raising one eyebrow. “You made a young child, a boy of  _eight years_ , feel like he’s done something terrible just because he loves the same thing as you and knows more about it? Because he wants to learn more than you can answer?”

She didn’t get a reply nor did she expect one, really. A grown woman, who’s ego had been scratched by a curious boy.

“Ms. Parker,” Mr. Redins cut in, when it looked like she wanted to go on another rant. “Maybe it would be better if you took some time off from work.  _To reevaluate your priorities_.” It wasn’t an offer. It was an order and it seemed to take her by surprise.

“B-but Mr. Redins,” she stuttered, staring at the principal with wide eyes. “What about my classes? How can you _not_ believe me?” Because he wasn’t believing her, that much was clear.

“Your classes will be covered, don’t worry about that,” Mr. Redins’ voice turned hard. “Now go, please, before I have to make this a suspension.”

Ms. Parker huffed angrily, threw a hateful glance at Loki, who thankfully didn’t notice, and proceeded to stalk out of the office. She slammed the door on her way out, hard enough to rattle it in it’s hinges.

The principal sighed before leaning back in his chair. Frigga reclaimed her seat close to the boys and took a few calming breaths. Next to her she could still hear Loki whimpering softly while Thor murmured reassurances into his hair.

“I am sorry for this, Mrs. Norsegod,” Mr. Redins said tiredly. “I had no idea that she treated him like this. Loki never said anything and no other class complained. But there will be disciplinary measures, I assure you.”

“I hope there will be,” Frigga’s attention stayed on her sons. “Should anything similar happen again, to either my sons or another child, we will have to take stronger actions into account.” The principal nodded gravely.

“Her credentials didn’t say anything about her behaviour,” he sighed and Frigga understood. She nodded.

“Unfortunate but true. Nonetheless, I will take my sons home with me now, after we get their class-photos taken,” she rose and smiles gently when Loki protested at first. He gave her a shaky grin, though, when her words registered. So she crouched down in front of them. Her hands wiped the tears of with gentle motions. “What do you say, we go and get your photos and then we head home and watch movies for the rest of the day?”

“With ice-cream?” Loki asked quietly, sniffling softly.

“With sprinkles on it,” Thor promised and Frigga nodded.

**Author's Note:**

> And if you liked it? Feel free to comment here or [ here! ](http://acaranna.tumblr.com/ask) You know that comments make our Muses happy!


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